The Secret (Patreon)

 Princess Celestia sat on a satin cushion in front of small table that had been set up by the palace staff for two diners on her private veranda in my Equestria dreamscape. A brilliant white linen cloth was draped on it. Upon it sat a fine spread of treats.

   
  A pot of mint tea sat steeping next to a flask of calvados which her guest enjoyed. For the tea there was a small carafe of cream and a pot of honey. A tangy wedge of Stilton-style blue cheese sat ready to be enjoyed with some sweet late winter pears. Resting in a wicker basket were warm, fresh brioche rolls swaddled like newborn foals in a bright red cloth. Butter slice sat on a chilled plate waiting to be smeared on rolls. To round out the snacks was a small, creamy dark chocolate and hazelnut torte.

   
  The princess heard the clock start to chime 11am. Smiling she closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes again Last Thing was sitting across from her. For this appointment the mare was wearing brilliant scarf of batik silk. It's turquoise and tumeric yellow colors were contrasted by necklace of amethyst and gold beads. A purse fuchsia cotton was slung around her neck rounded her fashion choices.

   
  Under most circumstances the mare's ensemble would've been garish. Especially when compared with her dark coat and dour expression. However Celestia knew that Last Thing did this to help other ponies stay focused on her. It was a problem the mare had struggled with all her life.

   
  "Good day Princess." Said the mare. She was less than 6ft away, but her voice always had a distant quality. As if she was speaking from across a large room. "Thank you for inviting me to morning refreshments."

 
  Celestia nodded her head. "You are quite welcome. It has been a while since we've been able to enjoy some time like this, and I also wanted to get your field report from Manehattan. Would you like some mint tea?"

 
  "Yes please." Said mare. "It has been a while since we have been able to enjoy each others company. 

  Over the next two hours the two ponies enjoyed the refreshments and the time together. Even if much of their discussions dealt with the messy business in Manehattan. As the hammer comes down 

   
  Last Thing took a sip of calvados and began to answer the Celestia's latest question —

 
  The old stallion yelled at her. "Listen to me little filly! I will not have you leaving my class without permission!" Around her she could hear other foals laughing at her —

 
  Princess Celestia looked down and smiled at her as they walked down the main hallway of the palace. "Now Last Thing I think you'll find ponies here who can help a filly like you"—

 
  Last Thing watched the bullet slowly spin as it left muzzle of the leg gun. As it approached her face she stepped aside and brought her right front hoof up to smash into her assailant's — 

  The evening breeze caused her mane to toss and ripple as she stood on the edge of the rooftop and stared down at the streets of Manehattan far below — 

  Princess Luna laid unconscious on her bed. Her face was bruised and bloody foam stained her pillow. The room was full of ponies yelling and —

 
  Last Thing was somewhere in the depths of palace. A toppled lantern on the floor provided minimal lighting and it threw long shadows across the floor. A young unicorn stallion laid dead on the stone floor. Blood oozed from mouth, nose, and eyes. 

 
  Two other young unicorn stallions were standing on either side of the fallen pony. Their gaze was upon buttercream yellow filly standing in front of them. Horror gave their faces grotesque mask-like features. The earth pony's head was bowed and the deep rose red bangs of her mane covered her eyes. The bright red bow in her mane flopped as she slowly raised her head and grinned. With eyes closed she began speaking in a voice that made Last Thing's skin crawl. 

  
  "He wanted ta know what the secret was. Let me show ya two as well. Y'all wanted ta know anyways." 

  The filly opened her eyes. Two pits of endless black stared back at the stallions. They screamed as the filly's shadow erupted into a mass of black tendrils that engulfed the entire room in complete darkness. Then from behind the filly a light began to grow in size and intensity. Suddenly something leaped into focus — 

  Last Thing screamed and collapsed in convulsions on the veranda. Her glass of calvados shattered on deck beside her. Rising quickly from her cushion Princess Celestia rushed to her side. For several seconds the mare had vanished from her place at the table, only to return in this state. She hadn't had an episode this bad in years. The princess reached out with her levitation and restrained the mare.  

 
  "Last Thing! It's me! Celestia! Focus on my voice! You are with me on the veranda! It is 1pm on Thursday the 22nd! Is your personal Time Anchor in your purse?"

 
  The mare nodded her head and then proceeded to vomit the contents of her morning meal all over deck. The sounds of her screaming had resulted in numerous guard ponies descending on the veranda. The senior most guard pushed her way through to the front.

   
  "Your Highness what happened?" She knelt alongside the mare and quickly examined her. "Did she temporally slip again?"

 
  "Yes, White Peaks she did. This is the worse I've ever seen her come back!" As she said this the alicorn found what she'd been looking for. 

  In Last Thing's purse were what appeared at first glance to be a couple of precision watch-like instruments. One was what appeared to be a combination stop watch and compass. The other appeared to be a finely made pocket watch with two sets of hands superimposed on each other. One set of hands progressed with even, regular, consistent movements that one expected from a watch of its quality. The other set of hands twitched and vibrated . These were Last Thing's portable time anchor and temporal-throttle. 

   As Celestia and the guard looked on the second hand on this set jumped forward about 45 seconds. When this happened the mare vanished. Then the hand swung back into formation with the second hand on the first set. Once again Last Thing reappeared in front of everypony. The unicorn's eyes met princess's. 

  "Y,y,your h,h,highness! She's the key! THE KEY! You, you mustn't let her open the gate! Don't let her open the gate!" 

  
  Galloping out on to the veranda was Celestia's personal physician Steady Pulse. He shoved guard ponies aside as he reached Celestia and Last Thing. Dispensing with protocol and niceties he spoke to the Princess. 

  
  "When did the first slip occur!?" 

  "About 3 minutes ago." 

  "When did you notice that she'd slipped?" The unicorn stallion already had a stethoscope pressed against the barrel of the mare's chest.

   
  "Immediately. I was looking right at her when she slipped." Said princess. 

  
  "How long did she appear to slip from our temporal location?" 

  "At least 15 seconds." 

  "Did she immediately start having convulsions when. Sun and moon! White Peaks hold her still!" Steady Pulse was examining the mare's eyes which were dilating rapidly back and forth.

 
  "Yes, she returned in this state doctor." Said the princess. 

  His horn flared and his medical bag opened and he started extracting instruments. As he did this there was a flash and the sound of teleportation. A few seconds later the elderly unicorn mare Evening and a young assistant of hers joined Celestia and the doctor. White Peaks rose and stepped aside so they could get closer. 

  
  "You're Highness. We just detected multiple, severe fluctuations in her monitoring anchor. Time Anchor She's slipped at least twice according to it. Is that correct?"

 
  "Yes Evening. That's what I've observed, and she appears to be trying to slip forward again! I'm holding her portable anchor to this temporal point but she's still trying to jump forward to some point in the future?"

   
  "MUST STOP HER! SHE MUSTN'T OPEN THE GATE! STOP HER! KILL HER IF YOU MUST, OR ELSE..." Last Thing screamed and began to writhe on the floor.   

        Evening frowned. "Deliberately attempting to jump when she's in this condition? What's so important that..." 

  
  "KILL HER! OR WE'RE ALL DOOMED!"

  
  Without warning Last Things horn flared and she started firing random energy blasts as her head thrashed about. One blast caught a guard pony in the chest. Fortunately the wards and the physical integrity of the armor he wore absorbed most of the blow; however the stallion was still thrown through the wooden railing of the veranda and down into the shrubs a few feet below. 

  
  "Damn it!" Steady Pulse pounced on top of mare and shoved his right front hoof against her lower jaw forcing her head back so her horn was pointed away from everypony. Mare continued to blast the wall and deck over and over until the doctor got an inhibitor ring on her horn which silenced her magic. With this accomplished the doctor jabbed a syringe into her neck and gave her an injection. Last Thing struggled for a few more seconds and then slipped into unconsciousness. 

  
  Finally the stallion rose to his hooves. The wall behind him was blackened and smoldering mess from the mare's blasts. Shaking he caught his breath and addressed the princess again. 

  
  "I can't do much for her here your Highness. I will arrange to have transferred to the secure ward. I've given her a very strong sedative. Once I have her isolated I will try find out what brought about this round seizures. I'll let you and Evening know as soon as I find out more."

 
  "Thank you doctor." Said the Princess of Sun. "I assume she's too unstable to teleport?"

 
  Steady Pulse nodded his head. Celestia looked at several of the guard ponies standing nearby. Using the voice she'd led a nation with for a thousand years she addressed them.

 
  "You four! Go to fetch a stretcher and some medical assistants from the infirmary so we can transport her." 

  
  She pointed at two other guard ponies and then at the broken railing. "You two! Check on the status of the pony who was hit by that energy blast make sure they're alright."

 
  Finally she pointed at a couple staff ponies who were standing around looking confused on the veranda. "You two. Bring some water and sure that this wall doesn't catch fire. Everypony understand their orders?" 

  "Yes m'am!" They said in unison and then set about carrying out their order.

 
 To be continued.